It had been raining for the past two days, with no sign of letting down. I had planned to visit my parents but with this steady downpour, there was no chance of that happening. I had slept and could sleep no more, and eaten most of what I had, I’d need to replenish my stock, plus I was bored silly, thus, I decided to ring up one of the young ladies whose numbers I have on my phone but never got round to calling.

Cassandra

The first girl I called was out of state, in far away Akure, I was disappointed but politely held the convo for about four minutes before moving on. The second one, though in town was storying about needing to pay her tuition and yada yada yada… I quickly launched one of the many versions of the “e no easy” story most people have as backup before she let her expectations get the better of her. I got lucky on the third try.

Now, I was already considering this a waste of time and was going to settle for one of my usuals when I tried this number. I had met Cassandra at a friend’s party, through another friend who I was there with, apparently, they had gone to school together. Now, Cassandra is pretty, with very interesting eyes and she carries herself extremely very well and she has a terrific dress sense (maybe because everything she wears just happens to elaborate her figure) not to mention, she can hold decent conversation on a variety of topics, long story short, I find her quite attractive, even though she’s into rock bands, piercings and tattoos. I’ve never been one to judge. She once told me she’s got some piercings and tattoos that could only be seen in a birth day suit.

Anyway, Cassandra happened to be on the island, so she was willing to stop by provided I would pay her T fare both ways, help out with lunch and be a good sport (whatever that meant). I definitely had plans, so the demands were nothing.

Right, so I told her I’d pick her up in 10 minutes, and we would head to the market (shoprite cuz of the rain) to get stuff for lunch (breakfast, and dinner since she wasn’t in a hurry) and would be staying over. She just giggled and I knew right there and then that I was going to get some, and boy was I glad, since I wasn’t getting any from my “girlfriend”

The Girlfriend

Zainab is a good girl, in fact, she’s the love of my life. I plan to marry her, Nikkai, Registry, and all, I would do anything for this girl, literally, anything. We’ve been dating for 18 months now and it’s been sweet. She’s a good Muslim, prays FIVE times, attends Islamic lectures and events, is even a member of an all female Muslim women’s community outreach program. She has a good heart, and she loves me as I am.

I’m not going to describe her physique but she’s very attractive, more intelligent than I am (I grudgingly agree, and this rarely happens) and she always keeps me on my toes, she wants the best for me so much that she’s beginning to sound like my mom. Yes, love is a beautiful thing.

Anyway, we haven’t had sex, we plan to do so on our wedding night, it’s not my thing but I’ll do anything for her, as I said, so, this is one of those things. I enjoy the occasional kiss tho, and hugs that linger, beyond that, nothing else, and its fine, truthfully, it should be. She’s a virgin, that much she’s told me, I’m not, and she understands that. She even teases me that it’s one of the few things I’m better at until she starts. And that’s the thing with this lady, once she sets her mind to something, she excels, so I didn’t doubt that.

Now, we are the “perfect” Muslim couple, I haven’t been with anyone else since we started dating 18 months ago and I planned to keep it that way. Three months ago, she went off to the UK for her master’s degree, and she’ll be there for 12 months. We Skype everyday, twice a day and she sends me voice and video notes too. I’m supposed to be in the UK in a few weeks to spend a few days with her, so distance is nothing.

Until this rain started.

The Rain

It’s pouring steadily as I drive into the mall in Lekki, there aren’t that many cars in the lot, I suppose people would rather stay at home than hang out. We rush through shopping, meat, vegetables, soups, salads, and whatever else she wanted, after all, she’s doing the cooking. I pay and we head off for home.

As soon as I open the door for her to step in, pangs of guilt start to hammer at me as I stare at that behind, I can’t shake it off and it hangs there like the clouds outside showering the ground. As soon as we drop the bags, she hugs me and kisses me full on the lips, by now my heart is beating frantically, she notices and asks if anything is the matter and I coolly say nothing that I’m just hungry, that’s all. It’s her first time in my place and she proceeds to give herself a tour. It’s a two bedroom apartment, I figure it shouldn’t take her more than a “minute” so I proceed to the boom box to get some music playing. DSTv is hopeless, and I didn’t have any new movies. Once I set the playlist, I’m about to go see what Cassandra is up to when she appears at the doorway in one of my Tee Shirts. Now the things is the shirt only reaches just the top of her lace panties, and she’s got on a matching bra (it’s a light shirt)

I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to get comfortable before I started cooking. It’s alright, I mutter, it even suits you better, I say with a flirtatious smile. I’m walking over when my phone rings, it’s “hey soul sister” Zainab’s contact ringtone, so I know my girl is calling. I ask Cassandra to go ahead, and I’ll catch up in a few.

Hey babe!! I force some excitement into my voice, I was just going to call you but you beat me to it. We had a ten minute conversation and just as I was about to end the call she says “baby I wish I was there with you, I miss you so much right now”. Those guilt clouds quadrupled and I played along, I’ll see you in exactly one week and you can have me all to yourself. After the I love yous and virtual hugs and kisses we hung up. I heaved a sigh (not of relief) and headed into the kitchen.

What took you so long…? Cassandra asks, rolling her eyes at me. I disarm her with a smile and hug her from behind (girls love to be hugged from behind) and mutter sorry, as I find my lips moving towards her neck and blood flowing in the right direction. I break off the embrace. I ask if she needs any help as I open the pots to see what she’s been up to. she smacks my hand and pulls me into the sitting room.

Tariq, why didn’t you return my kiss earlier? the question catches me off guard but I move closer, kiss her and ask what kiss? sitting this close to her, I now come under the full power of her eyes, and not for the first time, I look at her lustfully, carefully and absentmindedly began to compare her with Zainab. I hated myself for this, why compare two beautiful women (each unique in her own special way) one the live of my life and the other, the lust of the moment. I could never date, talk more of marry Cassandra simply because of my personal belief system buy I always saw her as a great person (and possibly, no, definitely one to knack on a good day).

Cassandra kisses me, and I kiss her back and I’m transported back to the moment, my hands roam, her hands roam and we soon find ourselves naked. She produces a condom, does the honours and it’s go time. The sex was good, it was better than good, it was great, we climaxed at the same time and lay back catching out breaths. I was about to say something when she jumped up and ran to the direction of the kitchen, and it was only then I noticed the burning smell of meat. So much for lunch, I remain where I am, on my back… big mistake, pangs of guilt, try to hit me but I chase them off, jump to my feet and go into the kitchen, no need to spoil the mood now, best to enjoy it while it lasts and that’s just till tomorrow, when she leaves my place, or so I think.